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Front Office Chat: 3/22/24
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Hey everyone, hope all is well!
Have to keep this one right at an hour so I'll try to move quickly. Let's get rolling
is it just me or...
3:01
Will the NY Yankees with all their injuries and, well, old people fall to 4th place in the division?
Anthony Franco
3:02
I'd have them above Tampa and Boston, I think, but it's not crazy to put them fourth. Very much within the range of outcomes
Lefty
3:02
Gambling is the greatest taboo of professional sports. If Ohtani was Gavin Lux or Teoscar Hernandez he'd be suspended by MLB indefinitely by now, right? How is MLB going to sweep this under the rug? Will Urias, Bauer and Wander Franco have their bans lifted soon after (because double standards)?
SonOfaGiantsOwner
3:02
Is it possible Ohtani used Mizuhara as a betting proxy and how on earth does a (illegal) bookie knowingly allow a non principal to accrue that level of debt in the first place? Bookie had to know that ultimately the principal (Ohtani) would ultimately pay down the debts. This whole thing stinks of a coverup and do you think Ohtani is as pristine as we have been led to believe all these years?
Anthony Franco
3:03
I find the initial story that Mizuhara accrued a ton of gambling debt and asked Ohtani to pay it off completely plausible. Maybe that's naive
3:05
I have no doubt that MLB will look into it and disagree that they'd have indefinitely suspended anyone else with the information we have so far. There's nothing yet to suggest that Ohtani gambled on anything, much less baseball. If that changes, he'll be banned
CardinalRed
3:05
So I get the dumb way of looking at the Victor Scott to AAA decision, but it is so dumb it confuses me. VS II is the best CF in the system. Start his clock and put the best team on the field. DFA Rivas to open a spot on the 40. Gorman splits time at 1B (future home), 3B, and DH. Edman back to GG at 2B.
Anthony Franco
3:06
Yeah I expect this is what'll happen. I'm skeptical about Scott making enough of an offensive impact to be an everyday center fielder, but I'd have him in the majors while Edman's out to at least compete with Carlson
Dodgers
3:06
Any chance we swing a trade for Lindor and make a superteam?
Anthony Franco
3:06
The Mets weren't that aggressive this offseason but they're not punting
Bruce
3:07
Is there more obvious sign of making a decision just to extend control of a player than Orioles sending Holliday to minors?  Hopefully they fail hard and he tells them he’ll never sign a contract with them
Anthony Franco
3:08
Nothing is more obvious than what happened with Kris Bryant, but I agree that's very likely also what's happening with Holliday. Baltimore at least could argue that they've got a great infield already so this is a baseball decision, but I find that unpersuasive
Sooo...
3:08
Maybe everyone jumped the gun on heaping high praise on Yamamoto? (this is where you say, "it's early").
But one doesn't pay that... for that.
Anthony Franco
3:08
I mean, it was literally one start
3:09
A terrible one, but it was one game
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
3:09
Now that the Mets signed (the right) J.D., does Vientos have any value at all to other teams as a trade piece?
Mets guy
3:09
I don’t get the JD Martinez signing.  The Mets are (semi) punting this year and way over the penalty tax to the point it affects draft picks.  Your thoughts??
Anthony Franco
3:10
I like the signing. They were way over the third tax threshold (the point at which the top pick moves back 10 spots) either way. JDM doesn't affect that
3:11
I'm a Vientos skeptic. I think there's a lot of stiffness in the swing that's going to lead to too many strikeouts for a player without much defensive value. So I'm a fan of them upgrading at DH, particularly at that price
3:12
As for Vientos' trade value, he'd draw some interest if they put him out there but they can also just option him so it's not like they need to move him
The Votto Lotto
3:12
Does he go north with team? And if not, will he accept a start in Buffalo to get warmed up?
Anthony Franco
3:12
I still lean towards him making the team anyway, but Votto said at the time he signed that he would be willing to go to Triple-A if that's what the Jays asked
Matt
3:13
Are there going to be team specific offseason review chats?
Anthony Franco
3:13
Not this year. The timing didn't really work. We got a late start on the series because so many key players were unsigned well into Spring Training
3:14
Then I'm off for the next two weeks after today, so we focused on just getting through the write-ups without devoting an extra 30+ hours to the chats
Sully
3:14
AL-only league.  My worst starter is either Chase Silseth or Patrick Sandoval.  Would you drop either or both of those for JP France, Lorenzen, or Mize?
Anthony Franco
3:15
I'd have Sandoval over all those guys but would drop Silseth for Mize or France
can you explain to me
3:15
Can you explain to me MLBs logic of playing 2 games in Korea that aired way to early for many of us and then decided to wait a week before playing another meaningful game?
Seoul Series
3:15
Ok, I'm pretty curious. I watched both games in Seoul this week because I love baseball and I have a flexible schedule for work. What time did the Padres and Dodgers get home yesterday? That had to be their longest day ever. More than 24 hours? Lol!
Anthony Franco
3:17
It seemed like a pretty big hit in South Korea. It wasn't a great setup for U.S. fans or the teams themselves, I agree, but I'm a fan of efforts to give fans in different places of the world a chance to attend MLB games when it's logistically feasible
3:18
That second game was absolutely wild haha. At least they're getting some of those hours back on the flight west?
Kevin
3:18
The Cubs have Brown still pitching in spring training. Do you think that he will get a chance with the team sometime this season?
Anthony Franco
3:19
Yeah I'd be surprised if Ben Brown didn't debut this year, probably in the first half. The stuff and Triple-A strikeout rate both play and their rotation depth is fine but not overwhelming
Guards fan
3:19
Surprised to see Straw waived. Does anyone take a flyer?
Anthony Franco
3:20
I was also surprised they made that move but it makes sense to do it before he gets to the five-year service mark. Angels/Braves have done this with David Fletcher (who is basically the infield equivalent of Straw) a few times
3:21
I don't think he'll get claimed. Taking on a three-year commitment for an all-glove outfielder is a lot, particularly when anyone could've signed Michael A. Taylor for $5MM a week ago
Jordan Montgomery
3:21
I will play for…………
Anthony Franco
3:22
Man...
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